NYT Strands answer for March 12, 2026? Puzzle #739 theme is 'Out-and-out'. Get spoiler-free hints, all theme words, and the spangram for today's Strands puzzle.
Find all theme words hidden in the letter grid — plus the spangram that spans the board and ties the theme together. Hints below, full answer behind the spoiler.
🔢#739Puzzle Number
📝5 WordsTheme Words
⭐1 SpangramBoard Spanner
💡SynonymsWord Category
How Strands Works
Quick refresher
🔵Theme WordsFind all the hidden words that connect to the day’s theme. Each word lights up blue when correctly identified. Words can run in any direction — forward, backward, diagonal, even snaking.
💡Hint SystemSolve three non-theme words to earn a hint that highlights one theme word on the board. You can earn multiple hints — but using them stops you from getting the “flawless” badge at the end.
🌟The SpangramThe spangram is a special theme word that spans the entire board — touching two opposite sides. It always appears in yellow and encapsulates the overall theme of the puzzle in a single phrase or word.
Theme Hints
Progressively stronger — no direct spoilers
01
Today’s theme is “Out-and-out” — all five theme words are synonyms or near-synonyms of this phrase. Think of words meaning absolute, unqualified, or thoroughgoing.
Theme
02
One word means fully accomplished or finished — leaving nothing out. It’s five letters long and commonly used to describe a set or a task with nothing missing.
Word 1
03
Another is a five-letter intensifier used before nouns to mean absolute or complete — as in “an _____ disaster.” You might also use it to describe a chaotic mess.
Word 2
04
A third word means careful, exhaustive, and methodical — often applied to a search, investigation, or cleaning. It’s eight letters and shares a root with a body part.
Word 3
05
One theme word is a disguised adjective — it looks like it contains a proper name inside it, but its meaning is simply “genuine” or “real.” It’s nine letters and uses a capital letter camouflage.
Word 4
06
The fifth theme word means absolute or unconditional — a single word used to describe something that is total in every respect, with no exceptions or reservations whatsoever.
Word 5
07
The spangram spans the full board and is a compound idiom meaning deeply committed — someone described this way has held their beliefs for so long they’ve become inseparable from their identity. Think: a permanent dye.
Spangram
Theme Word Breakdown
Click each word to unblur
Theme Word 01TOTAL5 letters · T-O-T-A-L
Adjective / Noun: Comprising the whole amount; complete and absolute. “A total success.” Also used as a noun meaning the full sum.
Theme Word 02UTTER5 letters · U-T-T-E-R
Adjective: Complete and absolute — used as an intensifier to mean total or out-and-out. “Utter nonsense.” Also a verb meaning to speak or express.
Theme Word 03THOROUGH8 letters · T-H-O-R-O-U-G-H
Adjective: Complete in every detail; not superficial or partial. “A thorough investigation.” Shares a root with the word through — meaning going all the way through.
Theme Word 04VERITABLE9 letters · V-E-R-I-T-A-B-L-E
Adjective: Used to emphasise the scale or degree of something — meaning genuine, real, or out-and-out. “A veritable feast.” Contains the name Rita hidden inside.
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Theme Word 05COMPLETE8 letters · C-O-M-P-L-E-T-E
Adjective / Verb: Having all parts or elements; lacking nothing. “Complete silence.” As a verb: to finish something fully. One of the most common synonyms for “out-and-out.”
The Spangram
Spans the full board · Yellow highlight in-game
Today’s Spangram — Spans the Board👑DYEDINTHEWOOLDyed-in-the-wool
A compound idiom meaning deeply committed or firmly fixed in one’s beliefs, habits, or opinions — typically from long habit or conviction. Someone described this way is thoroughly, out-and-out devoted to their views.
The phrase originates from the practice of dyeing wool before spinning it into thread — making the colour permanent and inseparable from the fibre itself.
Full Answer
ThemeOut-and-out
TOTAL
UTTER
THOROUGH
VERITABLE
COMPLETE
👑 DYED-IN-THE-WOOL
All five theme words — Total, Utter, Thorough, Veritable, and Complete — are synonyms for “out-and-out,” meaning absolute or thoroughgoing.
The spangram Dyed-in-the-wool spans the entire board and perfectly encapsulates the theme: someone or something that is deeply, completely, and permanently one thing — just as wool dyed before spinning holds its colour all the way through.
Word & Theme Notes
📖Theme Connection
“Out-and-out” means absolute, complete, and unqualified — used to intensify a description with no reservations. Total: The whole sum; nothing excluded Utter: Complete and absolute; an intensifier Thorough: Exhaustive and methodical in every detail Veritable: Genuine and real; used for emphasis Complete: Whole, entire, lacking nothing
👑Spangram Explained
Dyed-in-the-wool — idiom, adjective Meaning: Firmly committed to beliefs through long habit; out-and-out Origin: From the wool-dyeing trade — dyeing raw wool before spinning fixes the colour permanently into every thread In a sentence: “He’s a dyed-in-the-wool traditionalist.” Letter count: 13 letters (D-Y-E-D-I-N-T-H-E-W-O-O-L)